


A Human in Hell

by WrestleCrazyGamer



Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Seven Deadly Sins
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-07
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-01-24 22:41:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21345949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WrestleCrazyGamer/pseuds/WrestleCrazyGamer
Summary: Things almost never change in Hell - there are always sinners, always turf wars, always cold blooded murder attempts, and always drug abuse. Charlie's hotel has become a success, having successfully redeemed five demons and sent them to Heaven. Everyone in Hell becomes a potential casualty when a human appears in Hell, and becomes the host for the angriest of the Seven Deadly Sins.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 63





	1. Wrath

**Author's Note:**

> *Alternate Universe to cover my ass in terms of information I do not have.

Damned souls dropping into Hell is an everyday occurrence. It’s gotten to a point where some judge their landings with score cards. One day in Hell, the sky became white - which it never does. Almost everyone thought it was a bad trip as the sky soon returned to its crimson color. Everyone then went about their day, when almost half of the southeast part of the Pentagram collapsed out of nowhere. The very first demon brave enough to check out what had happened was Alastor, The Radio Demon, who happened to be strolling through Southeast Side at the time of the collapse. His investigation soon brought him to a very ancient summoning circle made from blood.

“Well, well, well, isn’t this interesting? Best not to let anyone incredibly stupid see you, my friend.” Alastor grinned, reaching for something on the circle.

At the Hazbin Hotel things were going smoothly as Alastor opened the doors with something wrapped in cloth over his shoulder. Naturally, Vaggie’s first instinct was to follow Alastor up the stairs to one of the vacant rooms on the 13th Floor. She watched through the keyhole seeing him toss the object on the bed.

“Well then, let’s begin by waking you up.” Alastor snickered.

Her eye widened when Alastor unwrapped the object to reveal a young human boy with pitch black hair and pale skin. The boy was dressed in tattered rags and had a pentagram scar on his windpipe. That made her fling open the door.

“You called a  _ human _ into Hell?!” she screamed, covering her mouth after.

“Not I, but someone did yes. The demon who summoned him botched the ritual, like an  _ idiot _ , and caused some let’s say complications to occur. Namely the very reason living humans aren’t allowed in Hell, one of the Big Seven got in him.” Alastor grinned calmly.

“So you brought him to the hotel?!” Vaggie roared.

“Yes. I’m not stupid enough to let one of the Big Seven slip away. This is a cause to celebrate! Normally the Big Seven can’t come out of their cells till the Apocalypse!” Alastor replied.

“Do you know what will happen if  _ any _ of Lucifer’s family learns he’s human?!” Vaggie barked, practically spewing fire from her mouth.

“He’s a human?”

That question made her rage chill to absolute zero in an instant. Slowly looking behind her as Alastor cocked his head, she saw Charlie standing there looking absolutely clueless. Vaggie had zero idea of what to say in this situation that wouldn’t sound like a lie or excuse.

“Why, yes, and one of the Seven Deadly Sins has made him its host. Not sure which, my bet is either Lust or Greed, those two are the most common sins in humanity after all.” Alastor answered her.

“Don’t just come out with it!” Vaggie cried.

“It’s Wrath.” Charlie stated.

“How do you know?” Alastor asked.

“The current ruling family of Hell can always tell which Deadly Sin is inhabiting what body at any time. We can see an aura around them that gives them away. Dad explained it to me once. Wrath is always either red or black, and his aura is very black.” Charlie explained. 

“Why aren’t you… you know, mad? Living humans in Hell is the #1 no-no isn’t it? Not even Lucifer can do it without some kind of punishment from Heaven being inbound. It’s the one and only rule in Hell.” Vaggie asked her.

“Alastor didn’t summon him, did he? It’d be kinda rude to get mad at him for something he didn’t do.” Charlie shrugged.

“Thank you, Charlie, I see you can tell at a glance that I am guiltless.” Alastor chuckled.

“Well if you did summon him you’d have a mark indicating you did. Plus half of the Southeast Side collapsing out of nowhere told me you didn’t have a hand in it.” Charlie explained.

“I did not find any survivors, so that makes him fair game.” Alastor told her.

“Well, how do we send him back?” Vaggie asked.

“We can’t.” Charlie replied.

“What do you mean we can’t? He’s not dead.” Vaggie questioned her.

“Heaven will never let someone who has a Deadly Sin in them back to God’s Green Earth. Unless Wrath leaves his body, which I can tell you right now he won’t do and will level Pentagram City if you try to force him, he can’t be sent back to Earth.” Charlie explained.

“Sounds like we’re stuck with the lad for the time being. I’ll wake him up so we can see if he lost his free will.” Alastor snickered, turning to the boy.

“Don’t you dare! If he wakes up and Wrath goes on a rampage the hotel will be reduced to rubble!” Vaggie cried, but it was too late.

Alastor used a little demon magic to make the boy begin to stir. He then sat up rubbing his eyes. When he opened them his eyes had pentagrams drawn on them, but they vanished the instant he blinked giving full view of his bright blue eyes.

“Wakey-wakey. Is it Wrath we’re speaking to, or the boy he’s inhabited?” Alastor asked.

“Where am I…?” the boy asked, his eyes getting wider.

“Interesting, Wrath hasn’t taken him over.” Alastor chuckled.

“Wrath needs something to be angry about to take control. He’s kinda like a bomb - he’s harmless unless you light the fuse.” Charlie stated.

“I’m actually shocked you aren’t geeking out about seeing a real living human.” Vaggie stated.

“I admit that it’s really hard not to right now, but this is a serious situation. It must be handled with care and finesse like the responsible adults we are.” Charlie whimpered.

“So what do we tell everyone while we figure out a way to get Wrath out of him without Heaven or your dad finding out?” Vaggie asked her.

“I propose hiding in plain sight.” Alastor suggested.

“That’s a perfect idea. I think I know how to go about it too. If he goes off for any reason there won’t be any hiding that Wrath is loose, so what I think we should do is…” Charlie began.

[Five Minutes Later…]

“Everyone, please welcome a VIP Demon to the hotel.” Vaggie spoke up, grabbing the hotel residents attention.

“I present to you… one of the Seven Deadly Sins… Wrath!” Charlie cheered, twirling to the left showing the boy dressed in a jet black tuxedo featuring a red shirt and skull with a tie coming out of it around his neck.

“A runt like that? Wrath? Pfft, I’ve heard excuses for tiny dicks more believable than that.” Angel scoffed as he drank at the bar.

The boy’s eyes then turned full red with black pentagrams appearing. He then let out a ground-shaking roar as his teeth became sharp for the duration of it. He almost fell over once he finished, looking light headed as Alastor kept him from falling.

“Got it. He’s Wrath.” Angel spoke, shaking like a small dog as he picked himself off the floor.

“On a scale of one to ten how strong is Wrath…? Like, could Alastor stop him if he goes berserk…?” Vaggie whispered to Charlie.

“Fifteen easy, if he gets really mad. I wasn’t exaggerating when I said he could level Pentagram City, and it’d only take him a few hours. I don’t think even Alastor could stop Wrath at maximum strength. Usually he has a partner that dad calls a ‘Control’, who serves as a means to cool him off when he snaps. In his words, not mine, ‘Wrath without a Control is an ill-tempered child without a parent they respect to discipline them’.” she replied.

“Okay, he doesn’t have a Control then. That or Alastor didn’t find one.” Vaggie sighed.

“Terribly sorry, but I couldn’t help overhearing you ladies talking. If Wrath lacks a Control, then the answer is simple! We  _ become _ the Controls! Human children are very impressionable, you know. Some kindness, even feigned, can go a long way in the eyes of a child.” Alastor interrupted them.

“Charlie doesn’t know the meaning of the word ‘feigned’ when it comes to being nice.” Vaggie stated.

“Splendid! It will make our little lie somewhat more believable if the Princess of Hell is looking after him, keeping his temper in check.” Alastor laughed.

“We didn’t agree to anything!” Vaggie roared.

“Vaggie, I dunno. I think I want to. Look at him. He’s shaking because he’s scared. On top of it now he’s housing one of the Seven Deadly Sins inside of him. He needs someone that he can trust.” Charlie attempted to convince her, pointing out the boy’s mannerisms.

“Well you two are about the only ones in Hell who won’t try and use him for somethin’.” Angel Dust snickered.

“Angel. Not now.” Vaggie snarled.

“Just sayin’, you know? Wrath’s got horror stories that make Alastor look like a chump. Don’t want him going off prematurely.” he winked.

“There is a child present, Angel.” Charlie scolded him, gesturing to the boy.

“Wrath’s been here since The Fall, no way he’s a kid. He’s just usin’ that form so he doesn’t scare the piss outta everyone here right?” Angel scoffed.

“Angel, I can trust you with a secret right?” Charlie asked him.

“Course you can, since your galpal’s last chat with me went  _ so _ well.” Angel smirked.

“Don’t tell him, Charlie. He’ll blab to the first person that pays him.” Vaggie warned her.

“Well now my interest is piqued.” he snickered.

“Now, now, Vaggie. I have a stake in this too. If Angel utters so much as a word…  _ I will have quite a conversation to have with him. _ ” Alastor spoke, demonic symbols appearing around him near the end.

“All right, all right, my lips are sealed or I’m a dead man, no need to threaten me.” Angel chuckled nervously.

“He  _ is _ technically Wrath, but it’s that the boy is human and is _ hosting  _ Wrath. No one can find out about this, especially not my family or someone with links to Heaven. The Big Seven and their subordinates are not allowed outside of their cells until The End War technically, but only my family is supposed to know that. I’m really trusting you on this, Angel. Nobody can know.” Charlie whispered in his ear.

“So Wrath’s being a very bad boy, huh? I can respect that. Only one of the Big Seven would have the balls to break that law anyway.” Angel snickered, his hand to his chin in contemplation.

“Not a word of the truth,  _ to anyone _ \- as far as they’re allowed to believe, he is the Deadly Sin ‘Wrath’. The story we’re going with is he’s here to rehabilitate, to see if someone as sinful as a member of the Big Seven can be redeemed.” Vaggie explained.

“I see Charlie’s already taken the initiative.” Alastor chuckled, making Vaggie look to a blinking outline of where Charlie was just a second ago.

“Soooooooo, I meant to ask earlier, but what’s your name?” Charlie asked the boy, kneeling down to be eye level with him.

“I don’t have a name… my parents left me at an orphanage as a baby. The nuns don’t give us names until we get adopted. They said not to go in the basement, but some of the bigger kids threw me in… then I woke up here.” he replied, looking somewhat afraid of her.

“Well, my name is Charlie. Since you don’t have a name, is it okay if I call you Wrath?” she introduced herself.

“The voice said yes...” he replied, looking around for some reason.

“Voice?” she raised an eyebrow.

“You can’t hear it…? It’s speaking now...” Wrath asked.

“Oh, I get it. Listen, Wrath, try not to panic when I tell you this. You’ve been possessed by the Deadly Sin ‘Wrath’, and the voice you’re hearing is its consciousness. You’ve been summoned to Hell, and that’s what allowed him to possess you.” Charlie tried to explain calmly.

“Hell…? As in the bad place…?” he gasped, tearing up.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. You aren’t here because you’re being punished. You’re still very alive, just summoned here against your will. It’s fine though, because I’ll be taking care of you, see?” Charlie quickly tried to tell him, attempting to give a reassuring smile.

“ _ Think Charlie, think! How do humans usually calm little humans?! You should know this, you’ve read every book on humans you’ve come across! Oh! Singing might work! _ ”

“Charlie, I know that face, singing might not be such a good idea in a room full of people who don’t know the truth.” Vaggie told her.

“I gotta calm him down somehow.” Charlie frowned.

“Now, now, there is more than one way to soothe an upset child.” Alastor chuckled, placing a piece of candy on Wrath’s palm.

“Candy…?” Wrath cocked his head, staring at it.

“Devil’s Eye, a popular chewy candy of Hell. Eat it, it’s delicious, chock full of sugar and artificial flavor that children oh so adore… also a great source of tooth decay.” Alastor told him.

“What flavor is it?” he asked.

“That’s the best part about it! The flavor will be different based upon whoever eats it and what day of the week it is! Candies like this exist only in Hell, I assure you.” Alastor laughed, prompting Wrath to pop it into his mouth.

“Grape flavor.” Wrath commented, looking content.

“You can’t cool him off with candy every time. He’ll start expecting it.” Vaggie scolded.

“I could watch him suffer, which would be a delight, but as Wrath resides inside him that would be a very bad idea. Why, even I wouldn’t be able to get away from Wrath unscathed. The Deadly Sins aren’t like other demons after all. When I kill somebody, they walk it off… but if a Deadly Sin kills someone, they don’t come back. They’re worse than Executioners as they don’t have to wait for a yearly purge.” Alastor shrugged.

“Wrath, if you like, you can think of me like a mom. If you have any questions you can ask me.” Charlie beamed.

“What, like a Hellborn Godmother? That’s a new one.” Angel chuckled.

“Angel.” Vaggie growled.

“What? She’s sure no fairy, and it’d sound evil whether you call her a Demon Godmother or Hellborn.” Angel smirked.

“I can ask you anything…?” Wrath asked Charlie.

“Of course you can.” she replied.

“Is Angel a boy or a girl...? I can’t figure it out...” he tilted his head.

“Get a little older and for the right price I’m whatever you want me to be.” Angel winked, earning a punch from Vaggie causing the two to start brawling.

“Angel is a man, but… uh… he’s complicated to explain to a child. A way you’d understand… Angel prefers… boys over girls…?” Charlie attempted to explain.

“I think I understand…” Wrath spoke, looking down in contemplation with a finger on his chin.

“Do you?” Alastor raised an eyebrow.

“Girls are soft and smell nice, but they can be scary sometimes, like if they get mad.” Wrath replied, which almost made Alastor lose it with laughter at his innocent response.

“That’s not quite… know what, for your age group that’s good enough for now.” Charlie sighed.

“Stop making a mess!” Niffty scolded the brawlers, making them stop.

Once Niffty was through with the mess Vaggie and Angel made, she was all over Wrath with a feather duster making him squirm whimpering a bit. After she took off he looked completely bewildered. 

“That was Niffty, our house cleaning and cooking specialist. I guess you weren’t clean to her standards.” Charlie introduced her.

The rest of the day was spent showing Wrath around the hotel, getting him acquainted with the place. As they walked Vaggie couldn’t help but notice that Wrath’s shadow did not match his human physique. It was definitely a sign that he was possessed by the real Wrath. She did not like the fact that only she seemed to grasp the danger of a Deadly Sin, who can kill demons for real, staying at the hotel.

“So, Charlie… do you think your dad would ever find out on his own?” Vaggie asked her.

“Dad’s always wrapped up in work. It’ll be ages before he notices one of them is gone.” she replied. 

Elsewhere in Hell, at the Seven Deadly Holding Cells, Lucifer was staring at Wrath’s cell in the darkness with a look of agitation on his face. None of the countless chains inside of the cage were broken, the blood on all of the industrial-sized nails was still wet, and all of the holy seals were still intact. This agitation was only increased by the fact he didn’t destroy anything on the way out.

“H-How could a monster like Wrath do something that requires finesse like this…?” a meek demon asked.

“The answer is simple. There’s a human in Hell - the only possible way they could escape their cells without breaking out.” Lucifer snarled.

“W-W-W-W-W-What do we do? If Heaven finds out-” the demon panicked until he grabbed their face.

“Heaven isn’t  _ going _ to find out. All we have to do is get Wrath back in his cell and it’ll be like nothing ever happened. It should be quite easy to find him as well.” Lucifer growled.

“H-H-How do we find him, sir…?”

“Simple… look for the town with the most sudden destruction that far exceeds what a turf war could cause. When you find it, release the Collectors.”


	2. Also Wrath

[Before Present - Seven Deadly Holding Cells]

A young Charlie was shaking as she hid behind her mother, who was staring into the dark of Wrath’s cage at a silhouette with six glowing red eyes. Wrath let out a ground-shaking roar making her cower more, but her mother remained unphased.

“Listen well, Charlie. This is important in the event that the Seven Deadly Sins, Wrath in particular, escape containment. In the event that the Sin does not have a Control, you can soothe their rampage with a song. It is known as Hell’s Lullaby and can put The Seven Deadly Sins to sleep no matter how much of their power is released.” her mother stated.

“It’s too scary!” Little Charlie cried.

“Fear will cause it to fail. Show now fear when you carry this tune, sing as if to someone you care for with all your heart.” her mother instructed.

“But…” she whimpered.

“After me, Charlie. Now.” she growled.

“O… Okay…” she sniffled.

“_ Si--ns, Damned And Cur----sed, Cease Thy Fiery Ra--ge, Make Peace With This Earth, Leave Those Who You’ve Hurt, Return to Fate’s Desi----gn, Mourn For Those We’ve Lost, Return to Whence You’ve Come… To Whence You’ve Co----------me~♪. _” she sang, and Charlie saw Wrath’s eyes blink a few times tiredly.

She then joined her mother in another verse, seeing Wrath let out a bellow of a yawn as its silhouette lowered to the floor of the cage rattling all the chains within. After a third verse, Wrath was at last sound asleep as the red of its eyes vanished.

[Present - Charlie’s Room]

Devil birds cawed bloody murder as Charlie woke up in bed. She went about her morning routine thinking about her dream. She’d almost completely forgotten about that song. With the song in mind, she began humming it in her head as she walked, attempting to memorize it. With Wrath being inside Wrath, she’d need it in case of emergency. When she went up to Wrath’s floor she could already feel something was off though. That and the floor had black fog all over it, which isn’t normal _ or _ welcoming. She made her way to Wrath’s room and knocked politely, but got no answer.

“Wrath? You up yet? Uh… do you know anything about this fog…? I’m coming in…” Charlie spoke nervously, using her master key on the door.

When she entered the room she jumped seeing Wrath’s demonic shadow on the wall with Wrath’s glowing red eyes showing. Wrath the boy was sound asleep in bed. On the wall by the door was a cocoon of some kind made from a black vine-like substance. Touching it on the floor was a rift where multiple jet black arms were holding onto a dapper pair of feet.

“Oh my goodness! Alastor?!” she gasped.

“Charlie? Ah, good morning! I appear to have been imprisoned! I can’t seem to break out, so if you can offer any assistance it would certainly be appreciated!” Alastor’s muffled voice came from the cocoon.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“I think so. Apparently Wrath did not agree with waking the lad at a reasonable hour.” Alastor replied.

“Okay. Let’s see if I get it right on the first try.” Charlie sighed before clearing her throat.

“Get what right? I can’t exactly see outside of my prison.” Alastor asked.

“_ Si--ns, Damned And Cur----sed, Cease Thy Fiery Ra--ge, Make Peace With This Earth, Leave Those Who You’ve Hurt, Return to Fate’s Desi----gn, Mourn For Those We’ve Lost, Return to Whence You’ve Come… To Whence You’ve Co----------me~♪. _” Charlie sung making Wrath’s shadow groan and the vines around Alastor begin to loosen a bit.

She sang a second time and the shadow began to slowly sink down with drooping eyes as the vines slowly retracted and untangled to show Alastor still smiling. The rift vanished once the last of the vines retracted and Wrath’s shadow had returned to being a regular demonically possessed shadow. The fog on the floor cleared up too, allowing Charlie to see where she’s stepping to reach Wrath.

“Wakey, wakey eggs and bakey.” Charlie smiled, gently shaking Wrath with one hand.

“Mm…?” he groaned, rubbing one eye tiredly.

“It’s morniiiiing~. Did you sleep well?” Charlie asked him.

“Oh… it wasn’t a dream… IT WASN’T A DREAM!!!” he cried, suddenly launching to the top left corner of the room as four black shadow arms buried themselves into the walls to suspend himself there.

“Uh… Wrath, try to calm down. None of us here are going to hurt you, I promise.” Charlie chuckled nervously.

“Seems the realization that he’s in Hell finally kicked in.” Alastor mused.

“Hell’s the bad place! Y-Y-Y-You’re demons! T-T-T-That makes you bad!” Wrath cried, shaking rapidly.

“That’s… okay this _ is _ where bad people go, but not everyone in Hell is bad. The guests here in the Happy Hotel are all trying to redeem themselves and go to Heaven. No one here is going to hurt you, I promise.” Charlie attempted to convince him.

“They might, humans are an extremely rare delicacy.” Alastor shrugged.

“Alastor!” she barked as Wrath found a way to recluse further into the corner starting to well up.

“Why shelter him from the truth? It isn’t like he’ll be able to avoid the countless other unfriendly things in Hell.” Alastor shrugged.

“_ I know you’re sca----red, but I swea----r, that you will be all ri-----ght~.♪ You’re here in the Happy Hote-----l, and that means no De-mon or Sinner will try to maim you or eat you ali--------ve~.♪ _” Charlie began to sing.

_ “H-How do you know for sure…?” Wrath whimpered. _

_ “Inside every demon is a rainbow~.♪ We have proof of it right here in the Happy Hote------l~.♪ Inside every killer, drug dealer, psychopath, pyromaniac, and serial rapist is a little child just trying to find the li-------ght~.♪ They may be crude, and sometimes show lack of progress, but I promise you they mean we--------ll~.♪ _Take Angel Dust for example.”

“The pink person…?”

“Yes, exactly. _ He has a reputation throughout Hell as a porn star and prostitute~, but today marks his thirtieth month being clean~.♪ He still swears, sure, and has the occasional lapse, but at least he’s making an honest effort~.♪ I’m sure one day he’ll be well on his way to Heave------n~!♪ All because he came here to the Happy Hote-------l~!♪ All I ask of you, Wrath, is that you at least give me the chance to show you~.♪ _” Charlie sung, extending her hand to him.

Slowly but surely Wrath lowered himself back to the floor. Still shaking nervously, he allowed himself to be dressed. Charlie happily led him by the hand to the elevator with Alastor right behind. They took it down to the lobby, and the minute the doors opened it was a madhouse. The entire lobby had broken out into a brawl. At the center of it Vaggie and Angel were arguing as they traded fists.

“_ This _ is rehabilitation…?” Wrath asked, backing to the wall of the elevator.

“Ahahahahaha… it’s not usually like this. STOP FIGHTING NOW!!!” Charlie roared, a bit of her full demon form showing making everyone stop as a vinyl scratched, and everyone took a seated position… except for Vaggie and Angel.

Stomping her way over, Charlie forced the two apart. The two kept trying to throw fists making her become even more frustrated. Alastor then loomed over the two making them freeze.

“I believe Miss Magne asked you two to stop fighting.” Alastor spoke, his eyes becoming radio dials as static perforated the air.

“Sorry, haha… guess I didn’t hear ya.” Angel smiled, sinking a bit.

“He came back to the hotel drugged up and reeking of alcohol. You were doing so well!” Vaggie roared.

“So what? I think I earned a little me time.” Angel huffed.

“Is that any reason to start a brawl?! Look at the lobby! It’s a warzone! How am I going to convince Wrath that this is a respectable establishment now?!” Charlie scolded them, making everyone look at the trembling Wrath in the elevator.

“Oh yeah, totally forgot about him. Surprised the rumble didn’t wake him.” Angel stated.

“I… Charlie, I’m sorry… I went too far.” Vaggie sighed, trying to get her clothing in order.

“It… uh… it wasn’t… ugh… damn it, why is apologizing so fuckin’ hard? I… am… s-s-s-sowwwwww… sorry! Very sorry!” Angel eventually got out, after punching himself in the side.

“Angel, you’re not to leave the hotel for six months.” Charlie huffed.

“What? Like house arrest? Fair enough…” he grumbled.

“No bar access either.” Charlie told him.

“What?! Damn it!” Angel groaned, stomping his foot.

“You reap what you sow, Angel.” Charlie narrowed her eyes.

“What exactly will Miss Vaggie be sowing?” Alastor questioned, a very amused grin on his face.

“I… I’ll think of something later.” Charlie sighed.

“You were saying you need to show Wrath the hotel is safe?” Vaggie attempted to change the subject.

“Oh my, looks like the lad’s fled.” Alastor stated, alerting them to the now empty elevator.

“Oh no…” Charlie gasped, flying to the doors.

Looking at the ground she saw not footprints, but drag lines following four-fingered pitch black handprints much larger than any normal demon’s beside them. Before anyone could ask what happened Charlie was running full speed after the trail, hoping to catch him before anyone else could find him. If Wrath went off in the city for any reason the end result would be catastrophic. She couldn’t guarantee his safety out there either. Once inside the city proper the trail ended cold. Wrath could be anywhere in the city now. All it’d take would be someone attempting to do something untoward for a Deadly Sin to suddenly emerge.

Her worry turned to panic when the last thing Charlie wanted to see walked by - demons in black trench coats and red hats. Watchers - the task force sent to locate demons before Collectors are sent to do what they do best. If they find Wrath before her the situation could go nuclear, making her begin searching frantically. The problem is she had no clue where to even begin. Unlike anyone else she knows, The Deadly Seven are complete and total enigmas when it comes to hangouts.

Meanwhile, in a different part of town, Wrath was cowering in an alley with the four arms that held him to the ceiling now forming a protective wall around him as he sobbed. Crimson clouds gathered to begin raining as he cried. After a while a demoness dressed head to toe in a black gown and veil hiding her face approached.

“Little child… are you lost?” she asked in a soft, refined voice.

“I’m scared…” he sniffled.

“You sound like you’ve been through a lot. You must be a new arrival, going by how well dressed you are. I know someone who is always willing to help those new to Hell.” she told him.

“Someone… who can help…?” he sniffled, looking up at her.

“Of course. She adores helping others. Why, it’s the reason she’s even down here. She can’t turn away a soul seeking help, no matter what their problem is.” the demoness assured him.

The demoness then led Wrath deep into the underbelly of the city. Eventually they arrived in what appeared to be a black market. At the very bottom was a demoness with long knife-like red hair dressed in a black suit, giving directions to stalls while simultaneously announcing auction results.

“Madam Culler, I bring a new arrival who is struggling to adjust to Hell.” the demoness spoke, bowing down to the other.

“A problem adjusting, you say? Tell Madam Culler, and I’ll do everything in my power to see to it that your problem is solved.” Culler giggled, her fingers flexing as if her interest were piqued.

She then turned around to face them showing she has shark-like teeth and glowing blue eyes with data flowing as if she were a blue screening computer. The sight caught Wrath off guard making him fall on his rear.

“Ah, my apologies if I startled you. I am Madam Culler, otherwise known as The Black Queen, and I run the black market and any and all auctions in Pentagram City. I simply love finding solutions to demon’s problems. Tell me in your own words, what is _ your _ problem?” she grinned at Wrath.

“I… I wanna go back to Earth. I’m not supposed to be here.” Wrath told her.

“My boy, any souls who come here are meant to come here. God has a conniption fit if a soul is sent someone unjustly, and everyone suffers if that happens.” Madam Culler giggled.

“No, I don’t belong here, I’m not dead. I’m still human.” Wrath told her, making her eyes begin flashing red and green before stopping on red.

“I… don’t have… a solution for that…” she stammered, starting to twitch unnaturally.

“M-My lady…?” the demoness questioned, taking a step back.

“No solution… no solution…? There’s always a solution, why is there no solution…? Solution…? Solution…? There should be a solution… where is it…?” she began muttering, running her hands through her hair as her twitching became very uncomfortable.

Alarms began to go off making the other demons begin to flee. Her body began to grow extra arms bearing weaponry as her eyes began to static as the red began to emit headlights onto Wrath. She began to laugh maniacally as Wrath started backing up.

“Solution… the solution… is simple… if there is no solution… you must… erase the question...” she began giggling to herself.

“Madam… Culler…?” the demoness stammered, afraid of her.

“My name is… Doctor _ DIE _!!!” she cried, laughing her head off as her eyes began to rapidly shift through the colors of the rainbow.

“We have to run!” the demoness cried, taking Wrath by the hand to begin running.

Doctor Die began pursuing them at high speed attempting to slice and dice them, making them have to keep changing which stairwell and passages they were taking. Once in the upper area near the surface one of Doctor Die’s weapons broke, so she laughed pulling a strange-looking revolver from her coat. She carefully aimed and then put a bullet through the demoness’s thigh making her fall down pulling Wrath down with her.

“Run, child, run! I will be fine!” the demoness urged him, helping him up so he could continue running.

Wrath’s feet began to wobble as he kept running. He didn’t know where he was going. When he almost fell over his shadow arms burst out to begin carrying him as they did from the hotel. After what felt like an eternity as screams of unfortunate demons who fell prey to Doctor Die echoed behind him, he could see light. His eyes widened seeing a hyperventilating Charlie looking in every direction, looking to have been crying. Time began to slow down for Wrath as he approached.

“** _What will you do now, boy? Trust in her? Try to go it alone again after this fiasco? She genuinely desires to help you. I will act based upon your decision, as always._ **” a dark voice asked Wrath.

“I’ll… trust her. Charlie!” he cried, and the arms plunged themselves into the walls to act as a slingshot sending him flying through the air almost tackling the poor demon off her feet.

“Wrath! You came back! I was so worried! Where did you go!? Why did you run away?!” Charlie cried, hugging him tightly.

“I’m sorry I ran away. I was so scared. I didn’t know who to turn to. I didn’t know who I could trust.” Wrath sobbed.

“You can trust me. I’ll be here to protect you. I promise. Everyone at the hotel can be your friend. You just need to get through their icy demonic exterior.” Charlie smiled, nuzzling him.

When she set him down a gunshot made everything, even the rain, go dead silent. Black blood splattered on Wrath’s face as it began to stain the left side of Charlie’s clothing. She fell backward, eyes wide with shock, as Wrath stood there frozen in place. He robotically looked over his shoulder and saw the grinning Doctor Die.

“She shot Charlie…” Wrath spoke in a cold, lifeless tone.

“** _What do you want me to do about it…?_ **” the dark voice asked.

“Make… her… pay.” Wrath replied, the pentagrams reappearing in his eyes.

An ear splitting roar then wrecked the silence making everyone in Pentagram City hold their ears. Once it subsided a black mist has obscured Wrath and Charlie’s position. Laughing, Doctor Die began opening fire into the mist… but instead of bullets hitting something flesh or hitting a building, the sound of bullets clacking on the pavement rang out. The mist began to clear a bit and a massive humanoid beast built like a tank with jet black skin and red vein structure was in Wrath’s place. Six glowing red eyes and jaws filled with jagged blood red teeth featured two large tusks in the bottom jaw stared her down. In one pair out of six total arms, Charlie was cradled with black vines around her injury to apply pressure. On the beast’s chest carved as if with a blade was the number “7”.

“Oh my god… Wrath of the Deadly Sins.” Doctor Die gasped.

Wrath screamed unleashing a shockwave blowing a few buildings away, startling Doctor Die into soiling herself. With his other arms he began to throw punches that left small craters wherever they landed. He began his rampage as elsewhere in the city, the news came on.

“This is 666 News with an urgent report. I’m Katie Killjoy.”

“And I’m Tom Trench.” 

“Today’s urgent news, and possibly this station’s last broadcast in the very likely event this city’s going to Double Hell in a bodybag, brings us to the southeast part of the Pentagram where none other than living legend Wrath of the Seven Deadly Sins has gone on a rampage!” Katie began the report.

“It looks like the object of Wrath’s anger is Black Market Overlord Madam Culler, at times known as Doctor Die.” Tom added.

“That’s right, Tom! The longer she takes to eat the dirt, the angrier Wrath is going to get! The angrier he gets, the larger he gets, and his ability to deliver property damage in a single punch skyrockets into the billions! Seriously, croak before we all get erased, m'kay Culler? Katie Killjoy, signing of for possibly the last time.” Katie explained.

That news report gave Alastor and Vaggie the direction they needed to find Charlie and Wrath. When they arrived on the scene Wrath had already grown to half the size of most buildings, bursting through attempting to get at Doctor Die.

“We need to calm him down somehow!” Vaggie cried dodging rubble from a collapsing building.

“I’ll try to lead him away from populated areas then!” Alastor replied, launching an electric beam from his mic to get Wrath’s attention. “That’s right, this way, this way, I’m the one you want!” 

Wrath roared again, beginning to chase Alastor back the way he came. Mid-chase the Watchers tried to grab Wrath’s attention, only to turn to ash after being slashed by his claws. Alastor eventually led him out of the city, but knew he stood no chance of outrunning Wrath in open space. As such, Alastor decided to test his cognitive ability by suddenly turning around to take the risky route between Wrath’s legs to begin running toward the hotel.

“I know you’re in there, kid, call him off already…” Alastor stated, fighting hard not to lose his smile.

Alastor led Wrath through the mostly unpopulated slums, headed for the hotel. He was larger than most buildings now. Whenever Wrath would seem to lose track of him he’d launch another beam and give a taunt to get him after him again. Alastor was making a big gamble with this. He was betting on Wrath’s memory telling him not to strike the hotel. He quickly leapt to the top and Wrath went to swing his fists, but he stopped his fist dead before striking it with the wind from the speed of it causing windows to shatter and the sign on top to begin wobbling before tilting backwards a bit.

“Ha… that… that was quite close… glad that gamble paid off.” Alastor chuckled nervously, tugging the neck of his suit.

“_ Si--ns, Damned And Cur----sed, Cease Thy Fiery Ra--ge, Make Peace With This Earth, Leave Those Who You’ve Hurt, Return to Fate’s Desi----gn, Mourn For Those We’ve Lost, Return to Whence You’ve Come… To Whence You’ve Co----------me~♪. _” Charlie’s voice could be heard weakly, making Wrath’s eyes become wide.

“Charlie?! Is that you?!” Alastor called, looking at Wrath’s hands.

“_ Si--ns, Damned And Cur----sed, Cease Thy Fiery Ra--ge, Make Peace With This Earth, Leave Those Who You’ve Hurt, Return to Fate’s Desi----gn, Mourn For Those We’ve Lost, Return to Whence You’ve Come… To Whence You’ve Co----------me~♪. _” Charlie sang weakly, despite her injury, making Wrath wobble a bit but shake himself growling.

“I don’t think he can quite hear you, my dear.” Alastor spoke, leaping to her to place his mic by her mouth.

“_ Si--ns, Damned And Cur----sed, Cease Thy Fiery Ra--ge, Make Peace With This Earth, Leave Those Who You’ve Hurt, Return to Fate’s Desi----gn, Mourn For Those We’ve Lost, Return to Whence You’ve Come… To Whence You’ve Co----------me~♪. _” she sang once more into Alastor’s microphone making the tune carry all throughout the city.

“Charlie!” Vaggie cried, returning from in-town.

“_ Si--ns, Damned And Cur----sed, Cease Thy Fiery Ra--ge, Make Peace With This Earth, Leave Those Who You’ve Hurt, Return to Fate’s Desi----gn, Mourn For Those We’ve Lost, Return to Whence You’ve Come… To Whence You’ve Co----------me~♪. _” Charlie and Alastor sung as a duet, making Wrath begin to wobble and shrink in real time.

The two continued to sing to Wrath until he was a few feet taller than Alastor, setting the two down. Wrath then began to turn translucent showing the sleeping boy inside of him. With one last verse, Wrath reentered the boy’s body setting him gently on the ground.

“Charlie, oh my god, you’re hurt!” Vaggie cried.

“I’ll be fine… yeah it was an Angel Gun, but it didn’t hit anything vital. A bit of surgery, rest, maybe some food, and I should be good as new.” she smiled weakly.

“Okay, I take a shower, come out and there’s a fuckin’ giant about to smash the hotel into oblivion, anybody wanna tell me why I just about pissed myself and had my second life flash before my eyes?” Angel complained, coming outside.

“Later, Angel. After I get this looked at.” Charlie smiled through the pain, having Vaggie help her inside.

“What about sleepin’ beauty over here?” Angel questioned.

“I’ll take him to his room. He’s had quite the adventure today, and I’ve had quite the heart attack.” Alastor chuckled, lifting Wrath up.

“What? Why? Come on, somebody tell me what’s goin’ on!” Angel whined.

Elsewhere in the Seven Deadly Holding Cells, Lucifer was standing before Cell #4 wearing an absolutely furious expression. Demons were inside of the cell with angel weapons at the ready.

“Wake her up.” he commander.

“I’m always awake… and ready to take, Lucifer.” a woman’s voice chuckled.

“Do you know why I’m waking you?” Lucifer asked her.

“Wrath got out, didn’t he? The one Deadly Sin you never could quite contain, because everyone has to get angry eventually. Just as everyone will get horny at some point… and I’m _ always _ horny. A little koochie for old times’ sake, Lucy?” she replied, snickering as her chains rattled.

“Dispense with the innuendos, Lust. My Watchers have proven themselves incompetent… which means that my Collectors cannot do their job. Anyone else would end up making a scene. So I will give you one chance to either reveal Wrath’s location to me, or bring him back.” Lucifer narrowed his eyes.

“Why me, oh well-endowed one?” Lust giggled.

“I can trust you not to go on a killing spree. The worst _ you _ could cause is a Hell-wide orgy.” Lucifer answered.

“Guilty as pumped, Your Honor.” she giggled.

“I know it’s pointless to ask you to stay on task, but I do expect results. Do not fail me.” Lucifer glared.

“Or what? Put me to beddybye so your guards can fuck me while I sleep? Which, eh, is about a 4/10 at best. Might want to work on your form, boys, there’s more to a girl than her waist holes you know.” Lust spoke, making the guards flinch while blushing.

“Do we have an understanding?” Lucifer snarled, getting impatient.

“What do I get for doing this little chore for you? You know Wrath and I don’t get along. Hatefucking is always a 0/10, no enjoyment at all. I can’t get off on it, and I can fill an Olympic swimming pool with cum on cucking of all things. It’s that bad.” Lust asked.

“If you do this… I will at least schedule you a playmate to visit your cell now and again.” Lucifer groaned, pinching the bridge between his eyes in agitation.

“Hmm, tempting…”

“Lust!”

“Lighten up, Lucy, darling. You’ll be forever flaccid before you’re 12,000,000,000 if you keep getting worked up like that. I’ll go Wrath Hunting for you, if I’m unaccompanied.” Lust giggled.

“Lust…” he snarled.

“You know I work best unsupervised. Any whore can tell you that sex talks, and more often than not uncovers some quite juicy information…” Lust stated in a serious tone for once.

“Fine. Unsupervised. I expect results. If Heaven gets wind of any of this…” Lucifer snarled.

“Oh I know what will happen quite well. You don’t have to give me that spiel. It’s why I’m in this cage to begin with.” Lust giggled.


	3. Enter Lust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's all fun and games until the Deadly Sin Lust shows up to give everyone a boner.

“No one will want a gloomy child like that.”

“Well maybe he wouldn’t be so gloomy if you stopped the other children from bullying him.”

“Children will be children.”

“You are enabling them to misbehave is what you’re doing.”

“It’s not like I’m their parent. All we do is keep them alive until someone takes them off our hands.”

“ ** _You wanted to strangle them, didn’t you? You were furious they knew you were being bullied and did nothing. You could have done it while they slept. No one would know._ ** ” Sin Wrath’s voice growled.

“ _ What would it have solved? _ ” Wrath asked.

“ ** _Solved? That does not matter. The end goal is to satisfy the rage burning inside of you._ ** ” Sin Wrath grumbled.

“ _ Don’t you ever think about how it’ll make others feel if you go on a killing spree? _ ” Wrath asked.

“ ** _How they feel? Why does that matter when the flame of rage burns, aches, razes, grows, and consumes and all you want to do is be rid of it!_ ** ” Sin Wrath snarled.

“ _ Flying off the handle isn’t the answer. If you gotta get mad, why not only get mad at the person who made you feel that way? You hurt a lot less bystanders that way. _ ” Wrath asked.

Wrath woke up to Charlie gently shaking him. It was wonderful to see her up and walking again, since Vaggie insisted she remain in bed to heal. Unlike anything else in Hell that can be walked off, apparently when it comes to execution tools and angel weapons demons have to heal as if they were human. Wrath couldn’t help noticing Charlie limp a little on the injury side.

“You’re limping.” Wrath stated.

“That’s an after effect of being shot with something holy, it’ll go away when I’m fully healed. Don’t tell Vaggie that I’m still healing, okay? If I have to stay in bed one more day I’ll go crazy.” Charlie told him, winking with a finger to her mouth.

After breakfast, Wrath couldn’t help watching Charlie as she went about the hotel. She kept assuring everyone she was fine to be moving around. He was never far from her, keeping a close eye on her limp.

“ ** _She will cause her injury to reopen if she is not careful._ ** ” Sin Wrath’s voice huffed.

“ _ Can you stop her from hurting herself if something happens? _ ”

“ ** _Why? If she hurts herself that is her own fault. Should she not suffer the consequences of her actions?_ ** ”

“ _ Charlie does so much for me. She’s one of the only people I know that I can trust. _ ”

“ ** _Trust… this concept is lost on me. All I can feel is rage._ ** ”

“ _ You’re inside me. Can I open my heart to you so you know what other emotions besides rage feel like? _ ”

“ ** _Do that, and you damn yourself for eternity. When you die, you will not even be allowed to see the pearly gates and be rejected regularly._ ** ”

“ _ Just promise you’ll help Charlie if she’s about to get hurt. I can’t do much on my own… I’m too little… _ ”

“ ** _Very well…_ ** ”

Just as they finished their conversation, Charlie’s limp got to her while stacking boxes. The entire wall of them began wobbling and started toppling over when one of Wrath’s shadow hands flew to provide a shield for her. Charlie let out a sigh of relief as the hand retracted and Vaggie rushed to help her up.

“I knew it, you’re still hurt.” Vaggie scolded her.

“What? I kicked the back of my heel is all, I’m fine.” Charlie chuckled nervously.

“Oh? Pray tell then, why is your side bleeding?” Alastor asked, moving Charlie’s coat to reveal a growing stain on her shirt.

“Uh… spilled… some ink on it…?” she smiled nervously.

“Now, now, Charlie, it’s not polite to lie to your significant other and your business partner like that. You’ll only make Vaggie and I more worried about you. You’re still injured, so you need to let it heal completely. Otherwise the surgeons will have to come back to stitch you up again.” Alastor cackled.

“Come on, I can’t just stay in bed the whole time…” Charlie groaned.

“No excuses. What if it gets infected?” Vaggie scolded.

“Oof, she gets sick, we all get sick, do us a favor and get some rest.” Angel chimed in.

“Come on, I’ll change your bandages.” Vaggie sighed.

“Nice save by the way, Wrath. She could have been hurt further had you not stepped in.” Alastor complimented the boy, patting his head.

Before Vaggie and Charlie could enter the elevator, the doors kicked open and lightning flashed causing all the commotion in the lobby to freeze. A horned shadow with a smile on it cast all the way from the door to the front desk.

“That’s weird, it’s not even raining.” Angel stated, looking at a window.

The sound of heels clacking could be heard as the owner of the shadow stepped into the hotel. Charlie immediately began trembling and backed up to a wall, making Vaggie worried. Stepping into the light was a pale-skinned woman with incredible sex appeal, very long jet black hair, two crimson horns on the sides of her head shaped to look like her head is a claw, crimson lips, and glowing pink eyes without any irises or pupils. She was dressed in jet black armored boots reaching her knees, a red dress with a long V showing her cleavage and a wide split in the front of the skirt showing off her shapely thighs and almost her crotch, black gauntlets with red claw fingertips, and a black choker bearing a skull charm whose eye sockets were hearts. As she passed by some demons they blushed hard either getting an erection or looking like they’ve been turned on.

“L… L… L… L…” Charlie stuttered, seemingly unable to get the word out.

“Oh, say it for me, Charlie, baby~.” the woman giggled, blowing a kiss.

“LUST!!!” Charlie cried, fleeing behind Alastor who was also visibly sweating a bit the more he stared at her.

“Lust? As in the Deadly Sin? That’s two outta seven, Charlie, you sure they’re locked up as tight as you claim?” Angel raised an eyebrow.

“W-W-W-Why is she out of containment?!” Charlie cried, shaking uncontrollably.

“Oh, don’t look so afraid to see me, Charlie… it only turns me on more.” Lust licked her lips.

“If you thought Alastor is bad news, then Lust is  _ worse _ news. Charlie is afraid of all the Sins, sure, but Lust tops all of them. On top of it she naturally makes everyone around her stupid horny regardless of your sexuality. She’ll do it any way anywhere too. In other words, she’s a walking brothel.” Vaggie told Angel.

“Someone’s done her homework. I should reward you with a little taste… but I’m not here for pleasure. I’m looking… for Wrath.” she smiled.

“Why would you think he’s here, madam?” Alastor asked.

“I paid a visit to the news station in town that broadcast that coverage of Wrath’s little rampage. They told me all sorts of things… like what my dear little Charlie has been up to in recent years, and that Wrath was last spotted in front of this hotel.” Lust explained, narrowing her eyes as her grin became wide staring at Charlie.

“H-H-He’s not here!” Charlie stammered.

“Is that right? Oh, and who is this little guy? Charlie, did you have a baby while I was gone? Here I thought you were disgusted by the act. Oh, but if Vaggie is still your lover, that would imply you cheated on her...” Lust giggled, noticing Wrath.

“He’s my god son.” Angel blurted.

“Oh?” Lust sneered, her gaze fixed on him causing him to tug his bow tie a little.

“Yeah. Pal o’ mine asked that if anything happened to him and the missus I’d look after his kid. Haha, poor bastard bit it in the last Purge, so, uh, here he is. Poor guy’s still traumatized, he saw it happen with his own two eyes. Doesn’t talk much, it’s a miracle he’s even out of his room.” Angel told her, chuckling nervously.

“Oh, Angel Dust. I’ve heard quite a lot about you. If you’re going to lie to me, the inventor of the art of infidelity… at least do it convincingly.” she giggled, approaching him and suddenly grabbing him tightly down below.

“W-W-Whoa, easy, easy! I-I’m not lyin’, he’s my god son!” Angel squeaked.

“What’s his name then?” Lust asked, her sneer turning into a sadistic grin.

“I-It’s Helel, named after one of Lucifer’s many nicknames!” he cried as Lust squeezed a bit.

“Yes. Helel is still quite new to the hotel and isn’t sure who to trust after losing his parents, so if you’d kindly release our client…?” Vaggie asked her, making Lust release Angel letting him sink to his knees as Lust stared at Vaggie with an unwavering smile.

“I thought she was gonna crush my boys for a minute…”

“So you choose to perpetuate the lie. That’s all right. I’ll simply wait until you inevitably expose the lie for what it is. You’ll be forced to confess the truth to me, begging for mercy as I hold your genitals in my grasp awaiting the most painful of tortures.” Lust giggled with a sharp-toothed grin truly befitting a Deadly Sin.

“I… am Helel…” Wrath told her, making her grin widen to her ears.

“Be a good boy until you slip up with your little charade.” Lust giggled, kissing his cheek before making for the door swaying her hips seductively.

When the doors closed the clientele broke into an orgy. Vaggie rushed to try and break it up as Charlie began to calm down a little. Angel Dust had recovered his ability to stand as Alastor, Charlie, Wrath, and himself formed a discussion circle.

“Just perfect… first Wrath possesses a human, I’m injured, Lust is on the loose, and she’ll be constantly watching us. Is there anything else that could go wrong?” Charlie sighed heavily.

“Don’t tempt fate.” Angel told her.

“Wrath was screaming in my ear to punch her in the womb the entire time she was here…” Wrath sighed.

“You’ll get used to that. Wrath and Lust absolutely despise each other. They get along like brimstone and hell frost. Wrath would rather solve his problems with lethal force whereas Lust prefers to… ugh… use her body to get through issues.” Charlie told him.

“ ** _She gets me._ ** ”

“Well, Angel has already taken us down the rabbit hole, so we may as well try to keep up the facade as long as we can. After all, only the denizens of this hotel, and Lust who instantly saw through such a shallow lie, know that ‘Helel’ is actually Wrath.” Alastor shrugged.

“Hey, at least I wasn’t sitting there like a bump on a log while she attempted to put pressure on the kid.” Angel huffed.

“Personally kid’s worth too much trouble. I’d have given him up.” Husk shrugged.

“Thank you for that completely  _ useless _ but appreciated input, Husk! You’ve volunteered yourself to officially be Uncle Husk!” Alastor beamed.

“Erase me.” he grumbled, tipping one back.

“Hohoho, classic Uncle Husk. Charlie will continue being a surrogate mother to our boy. No need to make her act any different.” Alastor laughed.

“Have I really been acting that way?” Charlie asked.

“Well, you put him to bed and wake him up every day, you help him change his clothes, you help bathe him, you’re making sure he’s eating right, on top of making sure none of us say anything he could potentially learn and repeat… yeah, you’re pretty much his mom.” Angel Dust shrugged.

“What’s that make Vaggie?” Charlie asked.

“The scary aunt that wants to help him but often lets her temper scare him off.” Alastor replied.

“I heard that!” she roared across the room.

“Oh, she hears the insult.” Angel scoffed with amusement.

“I shall personally be playing the part of the uncle who only wants his surrogate nephew’s happiness. Why, if we work together, Wrath should never go on a rampage ever again!” Alastor exclaimed, hugging them all into a group.

“This is Hell, he’ll go off one way or the other.” Husk huffed.

“Thank you for your baseless pessimism as always, Husk.” Alastor nodded.

“Finally managed to break up the orgy…” Vaggie sighed, rejoining the group.

“I think I’m ready to get my bandages changed now.” Charlie told her.

That evening in Pentagram City on the inside of a penthouse suite, Lust was drinking wine with two demonesses around her as demons in mass quantity have an orgy around them. The news was documenting a turf war making her narrow her eyes.

“That’s a lot of ill will being generated… if Wrath were there he’d snap in an instant. He can’t contain himself and acts on instinct when fueled with anger, be it his own or that of others. That will be all it will take to rip through their paper thin lie. Now how to get Wrath out into the streets...” Lust giggled.

“If you know it’s Wrath why bother with the games…?” the left demoness asked.

“Why, because I haven’t been free since the Fall. I want to enjoy my freedom while it lasts. I already know that Lucifer is planning to put me right back to bed once Wrath is returned. So why shouldn’t I purposely play the long game?” Lust giggled, kissing her.

“What will you do in the meantime?” the right demon asked.

“Easy. Pentagram City is about to get a whole lot sexier.” she replied, her Deadly Sin Smile showing again.

At the same time in Heaven, there was a small commotion as a group of four Executioners stepped onto a golden pentagram circle as a fifth stood outside of the circle. They all inspected their gear before making the faces of their masks glow.

“The mission is simple. Contain or destroy Deadly Sins Wrath and Lust, God doesn’t care which method you use. Be discreet, silent, and quick. Your names are C-447, L-225, I-246, and P-88. You will be able to keep these names if you succeed, or at least make it back.” the fifth angel told them.

The angel then activated the pentagram warping the group of four in a flash of red light. They began to leave as another angel approached.

“What are the odds they will return?”

“You’re better off hoping that humanity will reform overnight.”

“That low and you sent them anyway?”

“God’s wishes are absolute. There is obviously higher meaning in avoiding a full scale battle to put down the Sins.”

“Forgive me this blaspheme, but perhaps God has forgotten how many of us did not make it back from putting the Sins down the first time.”

“I’d be careful whom you speak of that around. Others may not be so respectful of your opinion.”


	4. Suicide Mission

All was peaceful as morning light shined in through the windows of the hotel. That lasted for all of five minutes. A turf war had broken out in the city. Again. Only this time closer to the hotel than normal. When Charlie entered Wrath’s room to wake him up, she flinched a little seeing his eyes had pentagrams visible on them. He looked more irritable than normal too.

“Is… everything okay, Wrath? Not sleep well?” Charlie asked him.

“The other Wrath is getting mad… he says the hate of the demons out there is feeding into him.” he replied.

“Wrath does feed on any hate close to him. He’s gotten involved in lots of conflicts that don’t even concern him because of it. I’ll have Alastor sort it out, so try to hold the anger in, okay?” Charlie told him.

She soon had him groomed and eating breakfast as Alastor took care of the roughhousing outside. After a little while the pentagrams disappeared from Wrath’s eyes. Today Charlie was going to introduce him just a bit more to Pentagram City. Their first stop was Southwest Pentagram Park. They would have gone to the Southeast Park, if that part of the Pentagram weren’t still under reconstruction. This time of day it wasn’t too packed. The grass was blood red, a stark contrast to the green grass of the living world.

Lurking in the shadows of bushes was one of the angel assassins sent to find Wrath, this one wielding a spear. Looming on a rooftop nearby was another, getting Wrath in its sights with a comically large white and black sniper rifle.

“ _ C-447 to P-88, target in sight. _ ”

“ _ Copy that, C-447. Hold your fire until the smoke screen is deployed. If we fail to drop him here, retreat. _ ”

“ _ Copy that. On your signal. _ ”

“ _ 3… 2… 1… deploying. _ ”

The bush angel then hucked a puck-like device out at Wrath. It then burst into a cloud of smoke making him and Charlie cough. A gunshot then rang out startling Charlie. The bush angel then charged out and thrust their spear at Wrath, making a loud  _ clang _ ring out. Before the angel could attempt to flee, one of Wrath’s sin arms grabbed them by the face and lifted them up. The smoke cleared up and Wrath had partially transformed into his sin state with pentagram eyes. Their spear was stopped dead on Wrath’s bicep and he’d caught the sniper bullet between his now sharp teeth. P-88 struggled fiercely to escape, but to no avail as Wrath began to squeeze, causing their mask to crack and fizzle out as sparks flew out.

“Wrath, don’t!” Charlie cried.

C-447 then unloaded several rounds into Wrath’s back, ricocheting off, making him scream in anger. He then threw P-88 like a baseball through three buildings before turning to leap up the building to chase C-447. Charlie spread her wings to give chase, desperately trying to convince him to calm down. He wasn’t sitting still long enough for her to sing either. He gradually took his full sin form as he chased C-447 rooftop to rooftop, pot shots ricocheting off of Wrath’s body.

Soon enough they ran out of roof, allowing Wrath to tackle them off the roof and slide into Southwest Plaza. Pinning C-447 down, Wrath began laying into them with countless punches that made dents in the ground telling of their impact. Finally sitting, Charlie began to sing to calm Wrath down. Wrath slowly got groggy and started to shrink to human size, but not before getting in a double handed slam on C-447’s chest, making the angel spit up blood as their mask shattered, completely exposing an effeminate man’s face with flat white hair and ruby red eyes.

C-447 looked over to the fountain plaza and saw a truly horrific sight. Crucified to the statue of Lucifer with fragments of their own sword was one of his compatriots. Their form had been brutalized with a whip or blade of some kind, but the scarf they had been wearing told him which it was.

“L-225… but where… is I-246…?” he questioned before losing consciousness.

Charlie caught the now sleepy Wrath as another angel, badly wounded with one wing torn off, slammed down on the ground beside C-447. Their mask was half-shattered showing a woman’s face with red lipstick, ruby eyes, and velvet hair. Lust soon descended with wings bearing black feathers and stomped on her back, making her scream as she dug her heel in hard enough to make her bleed.

“Still clinging to life? I did say I would let you live if you survived the fall… but you did make me quite angry.” Lust giggled sadistically.

“Lust, stop!” Charlie ordered, grabbing her attention.

“Ah… Miss Charlie… I see you were also attacked by this would-be assassin force. Should we not punish them for invading Hell and attempting on our lives?” Lust asked, her grin only growing more sadistic.

“No. They will answer for their crimes my way, as Princess of Hell and Heir to the Throne.” Charlie told her.

“Mm, and what about the leftover bodies?” Lust asked, looking at the crucified angel.

“They’ll turn to demons soon, so… I’m going to take them to the hotel with the survivors.” Charlie told her.

“Such a merciful princess. A better fate than what  _ I _ would do to them for having the balls to make me mess up my mascara.” Lust grinned evilly.

Soon after that, Charlie called for Vaggie to come get them. She had Angel Dust help with the bodies, wrapping them in thick tarps to prevent their blood from staining the inside of the limo. Upon arriving at the hotel they were covertly ferried to the thirteenth floor. The angels were then laid to rest. Two of them with clothes placed over their faces, one being the crucified angel and the other the angel that Wrath threw, cause of death being a busted neck and shattered spine. The other two were laid down on the bed, though still supported on the tarps.

“Man… so these are those exorcist guys, eh? Hard to think all it took was a pair of Sins to put them in a state like this.” Angel questioned.

“Wrath and Pride have the highest kill count for angels, reaching into the billions easily. According to dad they used to keep score like it was some sick game. No one took more pleasure in killing them than those two...” Charlie told him.

“So what should we do with them? It is quite obvious this was a suicide mission, so no one will even care that they are gone from Heaven.” Alastor asked.

“For now let’s let them rest. Have Nifty tend to their injuries. I’m going to make sure Wrath is okay.” Charlie ordered.

She then took Wrath to his room and gently tried to wake him. When he opened his eyes, they had pentagrams in them still.

“Is Wrath still mad…?” Charlie asked him.

“He’s on guard. He also kind of wants to crush their skulls.” he replied, rubbing his eyes.

“Well. I’m sorry your first real experience outside the hotel was so bad. Normally it isn’t like this. Well, most of the time, anyway… there isn’t supposed to be another purge for another thirty days.” Charlie told him.

That made a terrifying thought occur to her. The next purge is in thirty days. If Wrath went on a rampage that day, there’d be no denying he was free. All of Hell would hear about it, actually. That’d create all kinds of problems not just for Wrath’s host but for the hotel as well. Reaffirming to herself her goal, she was going to redouble her effort to ensure no one knows that Wrath is free of his cage.

“So, Wrath… what kind of foods did you eat before you were brought here from the living world?” Charlie asked him.

“One of the sisters at the orphanage was really nice… she’d make us all this bread that had a lemon filling in the middle. I don’t remember what she called them. They were really yummy though. I think that sister was one of the only people that were nice to me.” he replied.

“Bread with lemon filling… hmm.” Charlie murmured to herself, thinking about it.

Soon it was time for Alastor to begin teaching Wrath to read and write. Charlie took that time to head down to the kitchen. She flipped through many cook books, but couldn’t find anything resembling “bread with lemon filling”. Was it an original recipe? That’d make it almost impossible to recreate. It didn’t help that living world food was damn near impossible to import, so just getting lemon filling just wasn’t possible in a short amount of time. She was familiar with the taste, so she’d have to go with something that best replicated it. That would be screamberry, a blue berry with yellow polka dots all over it. Cutting into it emits a scream-like sound that changes based on how ripe the berry is. A ripe screamberry sounds like a stock woman’s scream from cheap horror films.

After finding a nice and ripe one, she popped it into the blender to turn it into a nice jam filling. She then set to making the dough that’d form the case of the delicacy. She then divided the dough into a number of small easy-to-eat pockets before beginning to bake them. After they were golden brown she put the filling in them before cooking them another five minutes. When they came out they smelled simply devilish. Devilishly good that is. Trying one, it had the perfect amount of flavor to it. Charlie then delivered some to Wrath’s room, finding that they were taking a reprieve from lessons.

“Ah, Charlie. I see you’ve been busy.” Alastor smiled.

“I tried my hand at a new recipe. I hope you like it.” Charlie beamed.

Wrath blew on his to cool it off a little more before finally taking a bite. To their shock, his eyes went full black with glowing red pentagrams in them. Moments later he began to cry.

“I-Is everything… okay…?” Charlie asked him nervously.

“I’m fine. It just… tastes just like the bread the sister at the orphanage would make. It really was one of the only good things in my life...” he sniffled, wiping his tears that just didn’t seem to stop coming.

“Living up there must have been tough.” Charlie frowned sympathetically.

“Not all human children have it good, Charlie. Some struggle with not a penny to their name, let alone a family. Often that kind of upbringing is what births future sinners down here. In many ways the living world can be a greater hell than the one we live in.” Alastor told her.

“Well. It does make me a little sad that some day you’ll have to go back. A human doesn’t belong in Hell.” Charlie sighed.

“Do I  _ have _ to go back…? What if Wrath behaved himself…? Heaven would never find out...” he asked, sniffling.

“ ** _Asking a lot of me._ ** ”

“I do apologize, but it is time to return to today’s lessons.” Alastor interjected.

Charlie wasn’t sure what to think as she left them to their lessons. Hoping to get her mind off it, she checked in on the angels. C-447 was already out of bed, caressing P-88. P-88 and L-225 had both begun to turn grey with their black accentation slowly starting to turn red. With a flick of his wrist, he summoned a brand new LCD mask to hide his face with.

“You’re already awake I see…” Charlie cleared her throat, grabbing their attention.

“Where is Wrath?” C-447 demanded, summoning his rifle to his side.

“If you want to hurt him then I won’t let you. Not like you stand a chance anyway. The deadly sin in him would rip you apart before you got a single round off.” Charlie scowled.

“I must finish what I came here to do.” he told her.

“I won’t let you. First of all, you all are invading Hell. There are thirty days until the next purge. That puts you in violation of the treaty, no matter what your reasons are.” Charlie scolded.

“You’re guilty of sheltering a human in Hell. This is in violation of the Treaty of Souls.” C-447 told her.

“If you tell, I tell. Mutually assured destruction, heard of it? I don’t fear God. Can you say the same about Lucifer?” Charlie narrowed her eyes, showing just a bit of her true demon form.

“You would go that far for a deadly sin?” he asked.

“I would go that far for Wrath, the vessel the sin is inhabiting. It wasn’t his choice to come here, let alone let Wrath inhabit him. So I’ll protect him, eventually get Wrath to leave his body, and return him to God’s green earth where he belongs.” Charlie scowled.

“Not possible. The boy is tainted. He must be purged and his soul be run through the purifying spring.” C-447 told her.

“For something he didn’t even want?!” Charlie hissed.

“It is the Lord’s law.” he replied.

“I’ll show you. He is pure, even with a deadly sin living inside him.” Charlie growled.

“I sincerely doubt that you can, but I will refrain from attacking for now. The display should at least be entertaining while I recover my strength.” C-447 told her, his mask displaying a sadistic grin.

When Charlie left the room she looked at her hands to find them trembling. She was angrier about the angel’s attitude than she should be. She knew from the beginning what Wrath’s situation was, but she was determined to defy what they said. Wrath is just a little boy who is a victim of an unfair situation. After pulling herself together, she checked on the rest of the hotel.

In Wrath’s room, the boy had finally finished Alastor’s lessons for the day. His reading and writing were improving, but not as fast as Alastor would like. Stewing in his thoughts, he thought about Charlie wanting to return him to the living world.

“ ** _Do you not want to go back?_ ** ” Sin Wrath asked him.

“There’s nothing for me there… I’m just a kid. It’d be right back to the orphanage. Back to not having a name…” he replied.

“ ** _You have a name: Wrath. Assert your identity and shed their expectations. Take down anyone who tries to deny who you are._ ** ” Sin Wrath told him.

“Getting violent wouldn’t solve anything. Not with them.” Wrath sighed.

“ ** _It’s hard for someone to bully you when they’re a mass of pulp._ ** ” Sin Wrath argued.

“That’s illegal.” he retorted.

“ ** _I mostly only know rage, but I also know that Hell is not a pleasant place to grow up in. I’ve seen many hellborns go from sweet children to being megalomaniacs._ ** ” Sin Wrath told him.

“What do you know about it being hard? You’re a deadly sin. No one can touch you.” he huffed, crossing his arms.

“ ** _Do you think that I began this way? We sins were not always monstrous like this. That being said, I do not recall how I used to be. Not even my original name. Just the one that Lucifer gave me is all I can remember._ ** ” Sin Wrath retorted.

“Do you remember anything that isn’t anger-related?” Wrath asked.

“ ** _I have no need to remember. Anger is all that I am. Anger is all that I ever need to be._ ** ” he answered.

“What if you could be more? Maybe bring order to Hell?” Wrath asked.

“ ** _I feel no reason to. If I do not feed on anger and hate, then what would I be?_ ** ” Sin Wrath asked.

“You don’t feel anything beyond hate though.” Wrath pointed out.

“ ** _We will go in circles at this rate. You have so very much to learn. Anger is the only thing that fuels me. My only reason for being._ ** ” Sin Wrath sighed.

“Why did you help me keep Charlie from hurting herself that one time then?” he asked.

He waited, but Sin Wrath gave no answer. Wrath hates it when he does this. When he asks a question and he decides to ignore it. Wanting some fresh air, he stepped out onto his room’s balcony. He honestly wanted to cry about now. The sound of something breaking stole him from his thoughts though. It sounded like it came from the twelfth floor in the room below his. He rushed down and found Vaggie had already arrived to investigate the crash. She was helping a somewhat lanky demon with a permanent jagged-tooth smile sit up against his bed. Now and again he’d light up a little.

“So this is… what forgiveness feels like…” the demon groaned, holding their chest.

“What’s happening to him…?” Wrath asked nervously.

“Something that’s only happened one other time in this hotel: a demon is being forgiven by the souls he wronged. If those souls in heaven petition enough, they can convince God to forgive their sins. The premise being, if those souls can find it in their hearts to forgive him… then so can God. The process is… a bit painful, from what our last tennant who went through it said.” Vaggie explained.

“Not going to lie, after all those kids I slaughtered… figured I’d be here forever, despite my attempts to rehabilitate… then this happens.” the demon chuckled despite his groans of pain.

“God is absolving each of his sins one by one, so that he feels the weight of his crimes before he comes to Heaven. An insurance policy to make sure he knows how lucky he is.” Vaggie told Wrath.

“That’s the deadly sin, Wrath, right…? Didn’t think he’d look so small…” the demon stated.

“Yeah. Wrath is also rehabilitating.” Vaggie told him.

“He’ll probably never be forgiven, but if even a deadly sin can seek redemption… then maybe this world isn’t on the downturn after all.” the demon chuckled.

He then lit up bright like a christmas tree and slowly began to lose his demonic features. A normal man was soon left sitting there. After a few moments, he slowly got to his feet and approached the balcony. A light then shined down on him, and very slowly he began to fade away. When he was gone, a rosary was left behind in his place. Vaggie lifted it up and had a smile on her face.

“Hope you enjoy it up there.” Vaggie nodded.

Wrath then helped Vaggie clean up the room and gather the ex-demon’s belongings. On the ground floor, Charlie was shocked to see them with boxes.

“Did someone leave?” Charlie asked.

“Donavin on the twelfth floor got forgiven.” Vaggie replied, handing her the rosary he left behind.

“The child murderer? Well shit, if that guy can get forgiven then anyone can.” Angel shrugged.

“Wish I’d gotten to talk with him one more time. Last time we talked to each other was arguing over his refusal to wear a shirt.” Charlie sighed, clutching the rosary.

“Isn’t it a good thing that he went to Heaven?” Wrath asked.

“A very good thing.” she nodded.

Wrath then helped Vaggie turn the items in at the hotel’s Memento Storage, a storage facility meant to remember the demons that get redeemed by way of their possessions while in Hell. While they were in there, Wrath noticed compartments marked for Angel, Husk, Niffty, Alastor, and Vaggie.

“Why are those marked?” Wrath asked her.

“Preparation. Even the hotel staff will reach redemption someday. Well, Alastor’s is more wishful thinking on Charlie’s part. He was at least touched that she believes even he’s not exempt.” Vaggie explained.

“Do you think it’d be possible for Wrath to be redeemed?” Wrath asked her.

“Well. That’s a tough one. The sins would first have to let go of the reason they got their name, and Wrath feeds on anger and hate. The only way he could let go of anger is if there’s nothing around to make him mad anymore. Or if he had a host that opened their heart to him, but then Wrath would cease to be Wrath.” Vaggie told him.

“What would happen?” Wrath asked.

“I don’t know the deep details, but the sins are meant to process a single emotion. Their sin. Charlie said they’d become something that even her dad couldn’t control anymore. It’s why they aren’t allowed to have hosts.” she replied.

Night soon came to Hell, and in the angels room Alastor was present. His eyes emitted an eerie glow in the dark. The angel corpses had begun to ungulate as their injuries fixed themselves. This was the final moments before they turned to demons. C-447 merely watched as his allies fell from grace. When they stopped, they slowly sat up as the feathers fell from their wings.

“Right then, I believe that it’s time that you all introduced yourselves. You’re going to have quite a long stay at this hotel after all. We should get to know each other.” Alastor chuckled.

“So you are going to degrade them by having them work as hotel staff…” C-447 huffed.

“You aren’t in a position to complain nor bargain, now are you? The only reason you still draw breath is because our dearest little Wrath listens to Charlie like a child does their mother.” Alastor told him.

“This is outside mission parameters…” P-88 stated.

“The mission is a failure. Doomed to fail from the start.” L-225 sighed.

“At least one of you understands your position.” Alastor snickered.

“Why do you care about Wrath?” I-246 asked the radio demon.

“Oh, I don’t care about Wrath. It is the boy that Wrath has chosen as his host that I’ve come to find endearing. Young, insecure, rough upbringing… but even so has found a way to smile despite being sent to Hell while still alive. It takes strength of will to smile in his situation, and with my guidance… he’ll always be fully dressed.” Alastor chuckled.

In Charlie’s room, she was looking troubled. Her conversation with Wrath and the angel was still weighing on her mind.

“Something wrong?” Vaggie asked her.

“Well. I talked with Wrath earlier today. He said… well, he said that he doesn’t want to go back to the living world. He said there’s nothing for him there. He can’t stay in Hell though… he’s human.” Charlie answered.

“Humans are way more complex than you think, Charlie. Wrath is young too. I don’t know much about taking care of kids, but I do know that they can get attached quickly. Especially when the person is kind and caring while all they’ve known is loneliness.” Vaggie smiled, hugging her.

“I don’t know what to do… I told that angel I’d show him that even with a deadly sin in him, Wrath is still pure of heart. If he wants to stay in Hell… then I don’t know how long that will remain true.” Charlie told her.

“You don’t have to handle this alone, you know. You have me. Angel and Alastor are on board to help keep Wrath’s freedom a secret too. I know that between us we can find a way to convince them while sorting out what we’re going to do with Wrath’s vessel.” Vaggie assured her, gently moving Charlie’s bangs.

“I hope so.” Charlie nodded.

“Come on. Let’s get some sleep.” Vaggie sighed, pulling her backward.

“Yeah.” Charlie smiled.


	5. Memory of Wrath

The morning was young as Lust awoke amongst a bevy of demons lying about the room. Her cell phone was ringing, so she put on a blood red bathrobe before walking to the balcony to answer.

“Good morning, Lucy dearest~.” Lust giggled.

“Enough pleasantries, Lust. I want a status report.” Lucifer’s voice demanded.

“Wrath is contained. For now, at least.” Lust told him.

“You’ve found him? Why haven’t you brought him back yet?” Lucifer asked.

“I was amused by the people hiding him. People don’t often try to lie to me, Lucy, especially when I have their genitals at my mercy… yet they continued to deny Wrath’s presence.” she explained.

“Bring him back before Heaven finds out, Lust…” Lucifer ordered.

“Heaven already knows. They sent an assassination team for both myself and Wrath. They failed miserably, naturally. It shows that Heaven is just looking for excuses to send angels here, what with the annual purge around the corner.” Lust giggled.

“The purge being so close is  _ why _ Wrath needs to be contained, Lust. Did containment make you forget what death curdled screams do to Wrath?” Lucifer growled.

“Well if Heaven already knows then why even bother?” Lust asked.

“It is the principle of keeping you all locked up. It is the one agreement I would not dare double cross. Not when  _ that man _ is just looking for a reason to mock me… more than  _ usual _ , anyway.” Lucifer answered.

“Ohhhh~, you think if we released the others we could get Michael to come down here? That’s one piece of angel ass I’d  _ love _ to know better…” Lust licked her lips.

“Lust. Bring Wrath back. So I can kill his host. Lock you both up… and just maybe _avoid an outright cleanse._ **_Now…_**” Lucifer ordered, his voice progressively becoming darker.

“Ooh, scary~. How about this, Lucy? You let me do this at my own pace as agreed, or I can get very… _very…_ _naughty._” Lust responded, her mouth curving into a sharp-toothed grin.

“ ** _Lust!_ ** ” Lucifer roared in a demonic voice.

“What are you going to do about it, Lucy? Take it out in the sack as usual? Send droves of assassins and soldiers post-coitus? Or are you going to grow some  _ balls _ and fetch Wrath yourself? Let your anger get to you and let out another sin to try and bring him back? I can’t wait to learn the answer...” Lust giggled before hanging up.

In Lucifer’s office, the devil’s eye was twitching with a rage that went well beyond furious. It boiled and boiled, until the nerve exploded. True fury was emblazoned on his face as he pressed a microphone button.

“Kibble. Bring the car around.” Lucifer snarled.

In a short few moments, Lucifer made his way through a mansion to the courtyard where a black limo had pulled up. An imp quickly opened the door for him.

“Where to, my lord?” a zombie demon asked.

“Pentagram City. If Lust said that she found Wrath, then he must be there.” Lucifer answered.

Meanwhile, at the Hazbin Hotel, the morning was quite young. Wrath was shown to the table by Charlie, as always. He couldn’t help noticing a distinct gap in where some people were eating at the table. Sitting across from him was C-447. The demonic staff and clientele were nervous to be around him it seemed. He almost looked to have been waiting for Wrath.

“How does it feel bearing the weight of Wrath’s sin within you?” C-447 asked him.

“I don’t feel anything.” he replied.

“You don’t? As Wrath’s vessel, surely you have taken life that you regret?” the angel prodded.

“No. Wrath and I have been on our best behavior. Until you jerks showed up and tried to kill us.” Wrath told him.

“Wrath needs to be locked up, boy. Wrath only brings death and destruction wherever he goes.” C-447 narrowed his eyes.

“Stop profiling him just because you’re an angel.” he scowled.

“Pardon?”

“I heard about it on TV once at the orphanage. When you put stuff that you think someone will do onto them without knowing them, just because of what they are, you’re profiling them.” Wrath nodded.

“I think that you will find there is factual evidence behind Wrath’s labels.” he scolded.

“There’s factual evidence that you’re a bully.” Wrath huffed.

“I suppose it was fruitless to attempt convincing you to reject Wrath. Who knows what bilge he’s filled your head with...” he sighed.

“ ** _I’ll crush his head in my palm…_ ** ” Sin Wrath snarled.

“ _ Don’t… _ ”

“Okay! Sorry it took so long. Breakfast is served.” Charlie spoke, placing a plate in front of Wrath.

As Wrath began digging in, C-447 gave a long calculating look at Charlie. The gaze of his mask was very unsettling, making her fidget a little.

“I-Is something on my face…?” Charlie asked him.

“This won’t last, you know. Sooner or later, this little peace you have will come crashing down… and you will need to make a decision. You will have your chance to prove whether or not he’s pure sooner than you think.” C-447 replied.

“In front of him…? Really…?” Charlie frowned.

“Ah, Charlie. There you are. I had a brilliant idea this morning while brushing my teeth. It will do no good if all Wrath learns is reading and writing. What if he were to learn an instrument as well? I highly recommend the piano.” Alastor interjected, appearing behind her.

“ ** _I HATE the piano… too many keys and notes to remember… the triangle is much simpler._ ** ” Sin Wrath snarled.

“I used to pretend I could play piano at the orphanage. The sisters let me get away with it because the wires inside had snapped, so it didn’t make sound.” Wrath told them.

“Would you like to learn?” Alastor asked.

After Wrath finished breakfast, Alastor showed him to a room with a black piano inside. Sitting him at the keys, he began instructing him on the anatomy of the piano. After that came acquainting Wrath with sheet music. Time signature, treble and bass clef, sharps, the many variations of note, and rests were all explained to him. With a piece of beginner music titled “Hell’s Ballad”, Alastor played how it should sound expertly.

“This piece of music is designed to get you accustomed to using each of your fingers effectively. There will be no single finger playing here.” Alastor told him.

Immediately, Wrath pressed the wrong key producing a sour sound like claws on a chalkboard.

“Ah, there's the rub. This piano is special, you see. When presented with sheet music it will produce the sweetest tune… assuming that you do not get the notes wrong. Don’t fret. We’ll continue to work with this piece until you can play it by heart without needing the sheet music.” Alastor beamed.

The lessons went on for hours, but Wrath just couldn’t seem to get the notes right. The speed of eighth and sixteenth notes still threw him off immensely. Often he’d nail the first note but be too slow to hit the next part of the note, resulting in a sour sound. Throughout the hotel, the clientele were desperately plugging their ears. It seemed the more he got the notes wrong the louder the sour notes got. When they stopped for the day Wrath felt quite upset. He hadn’t managed to play the song the whole way through once as each sour note kept startling him, resulting in forgetting where he was.

Alastor assured him that for only his first day of learning he didn’t do that bad. It didn’t seem to cheer him up very much though. When he went to sleep that evening, he wound up sobbing into the pillow. It kept up until he eventually fell asleep. In his dreams, he found himself in a white room. It looked empty, until the sound of a piano key got his attention. Across the way was a blond-haired man in a black suit sitting on a stump. Before him was a grand red piano. He played a tune that Wrath didn’t recognize, but it was altogether a soothing tune to hear. He slowly approached the man, but when he looked at his face he couldn’t make anything out. The man looked to Wrath but kept playing without missing a single note.

“Some advice, young one. Piano is part knowledge and part heart. Hear the music in your mind and feel the music in your heart, and let them guide your fingers.” the man told him.

“Who are you?” Wrath asked.

“Just someone who likes to play the piano.” he chuckled.

When morning came and Wrath awoke, he somehow felt better. After breakfast it was time for more lessons. Alastor looked enthusiastic, despite how yesterday went.

“Mister Alastor. Could you play it once for me again? So I have a fresh idea of how it’s supposed to sound?” Wrath asked.

“A splendid idea, my dear lad. Some learn by reading, others by hearing.” Alastor laughed.

Alastor then played through Hell’s Ballad once more for him. It was then time for Wrath to take to the keys again. He recalled what he’d heard in his dream and took a deep breath. Slowly he began to play, getting fewer notes wrong than before. He still had clumsy pinkies and thumbs, but a good chunk of the notes were correct. The eights and sixteenths still gave him trouble, but he was starting to get them. Near the end of the song thunder clapped, startling him into slamming his hands on the keys almost making some demon’s ears bleed in the process.

“Hmm. Looks like a storm. So much for that sunny weather we were supposed to have all week. Hell weather forecasts, am I right?” Alastor laughed as it began pouring rain outside.

Wrath had to restart, having totally lost his place, but this time got the first four measures perfectly. When lightning would flash, Wrath’s shadow on the floor and wall would be shown to be undulating. Alastor kept an eye on it as he continued to play. Over time Wrath’s horrific visage began to look more and more like a person. When Wrath reached the end of the song he wiped sweat from his forehead.

“You made it to the end. You managed to get through, so why not give an encore performance? See if you can fix what you did wrong. Practice makes perfect, after all.” Alastor encouraged him.

He nodded and slowly began to play again. This time was much different, to the radio demon’s surprise. Not a single sour note was being made. Wrath had closed his eyes. When lightning flashed again, Wrath’s shadow had taken a far more refined appearance with two defined horns and a forked tail. When he finished and opened his eyes, they were black with red pentagrams and with a single blink returned to normal.

“Let’s take a break. I need to speak with Charlie about something.” Alastor spoke.

The radio demon then sought out the princess with urgency. He found her talking with Angel Dust in the hotel workout studio.

“Something wrong, Alastor?” Charlie asked.

“Wrath  _ is _ a monster that grows with his anger, yes?” Alastor replied.

“It’s the only way that I’ve known him since I was a kid.” she nodded.

“I witnessed something most peculiar as he played earlier.” Alastor told her.

“Oh, so that wasn’t you just giving another example?” Angel interjected.

“His shadow changed shape. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that Wrath has an appreciation for good music. So much so that he took over to play that beautiful rendition.” Alastor answered.

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of music. Piano music. The tune swayed, twirled, and pranced in a merry yet melancholic way. They followed it back to the piano room to find not Wrath sitting at the piano, but the man in Wrath’s dream. Only now he bore Wrath’s horns and a tail that forks into two at the middle. His hands were scorched black and had sharp claws on the ends as well. The pentagrams in his eyes were undeniable. They remained silent the whole way through the song, only stepping forward when the demon had finished.

“That song was Lilith’s Dilemma. Dad used to play it all the time when I was growing up.” Charlie smiled.

“You’re looking at the demon who originally wrote it.” the demon smiled kindly.

“Who might you be?” Alastor asked as the demon stood from the piano.

“Charlie has never properly met this form of me. I am Wrath, Deadly Sin and Arch Overlord of Hell. I am also a master pianist who has written many songs known across Hell.” the demon introduced himself, bowing respectfully.

“Isn’t Wrath… ya know… that big guy? Gets bigger as he gets angrier?” Angel Dust asked him.

“Yes, that barbaric beast is also me. The side of me that I birthed in order to protect the Wrath Ring from Heaven’s purge. I gave up everything to be consumed with anger… and obtain power far beyond what I already had. I was always dormant within my less desirable form, but my vessel playing piano allowed me to stir, at least for a little while.” Wrath explained.

“A little while?” Charlie raised an eyebrow.

“Before long my worse half will wake up and I will again fall into a slumber within his subconscious. I can only communicate with my vessel in his dreams.” Wrath replied.

“Do all of the sins have a ‘better half’ like you?” Charlie asked.

“Of course we do, my dear princess. This form of me has quite thick skin, so it takes a lot to well and truly anger me. Meanwhile, my other half would go on a rampage over playground insults. Lust used to be able to exercise self control with both her aura and her lusting. She was quite the singer back in the day, a voice that even angels would listen to on repeat. After the First Purge, she lost all motivation to ever sing again and gave in to her namesake to protect her people.” Wrath answered.

“Interesting insight into the sins, but what of the boy?” Alastor chuckled.

“Little Wrath is safe. He is worried about being abandoned though. He seems ready to reject the living world, when he has found more kindness in Hell than where he was.” Wrath answered, touching his chest.

“Humans don’t belong in Hell.” Charlie told him.

“There are a few options besides sending him back. Of course, none of them will work while he is my host. I wish you luck convincing my other half to part from him.” Wrath smiled apologetically.

His entire body then turned black, shifted shape, and the boy named Wrath was returned to them. He unsteadily tried to walk and stumbled forward, making Charlie catch him. He looked completely bewildered.

“What happened? I was gonna practice some more and I blacked out…” Wrath asked.

At that moment, Vaggie burst into the room looking like she’d seen a ghost. She was visibly trembling as well.

“Vaggie, what’s wrong?” Charlie asked.

“Y-Your dad is here.” she replied.

“Jig’s up.” Angel Dust spoke.

Waiting in the dining room was Lucifer, his hat tipped as he enjoyed some wine. The room had seemed to grow dark around him as a candle burned near him. Charlie took Wrath with him, because she knew she couldn’t lie to him. He’d see right through it. He always does.

“There’s my little antichrist. I see that you’ve brought Wrath with you. Splendid. It makes things much smoother when people don’t play games with me.” Lucifer chuckled.

“Dad. I know what you believe you had to do, but Wrath’s just a kid…” Charlie spoke up.

“That fact is not lost on me. My blackened heart bleeds, but he is a sin’s vessel, Charlotte. I will not have Heaven sending more angels than normal because we violated the agreement. After I collect Wrath I must be off to collect Lust posthaste. There are scant few days before the next purge.” Lucifer told her.

“Wrath has been on his best behavior, for the most part. All of his rampages have been incited by others, not premeditated.” Charlie retorted.

“I am not here to argue, Charlotte. As Ruler of Hell, I must do this.” Lucifer sighed.

“ **Try to touch him…** ” Sin Wrath’s voice shook the building.

Wrath then began to rise from the boy’s shadow and protectively put his arms around him, snarling at Lucifer. Lucifer was obviously angered by this, but his smile did not change.

“Wrath. How nice of you to join us. You know that one way or another he must be purified. Don’t make this any harder than it needs to be. You don’t want your vessel to suffer, do you? Come quietly. I have full intentions to make it painless for the poor boy.” Lucifer narrowed his eyes.

“You cannot take Wrath.” C-447 piped up, walking out.

“Who are you?” Lucifer asked, his eyes casting a glance over.

“I am C-447, Heavensent Sin Containment Team. The demon Charlotte Magne has made a deal with me. A bet more realistically, but a deal nonetheless. If she can prove that Wrath’s vessel is pure of heart, even after being inhabited by a deadly sin, we shall recognize Wrath as being contained and the contract upheld. If not, we will purge his vessel as ordered by God.” C-447 explained to him.

“Is this correct, Charlotte?” Lucifer asked, looking up to gaze straight into her eyes.

“Yes. I made that deal as Princess of Hell and Heir to the Throne. I’m not stupid, you know, I know exactly what’s at stake if Heaven thinks the contract is broken. Little Wrath here has given me every indication that he is still pure.” Charlie nodded, trying to look confident.

“Has Wrath agreed to go peacefully should his vessel be deemed impure?” Lucifer asked.

“ **I shall go, if and ** ** _only_ ** ** if he’s impure…** ” Sin Wrath snarled, narrowing his eyes.

“Well, this is a  _ swell _ little arrangement. I only wish I’d been informed of it  _ before _ I came all the way down here.” Lucifer spoke, and the atmosphere seemed to lighten immediately.

“That is also my doing. Heaven has stated this evaluation is to be kept strictly off the record, so I instructed Princess Magne to remain silent about the arrangement.” C-447 told him.

“Silent even from me, Hell’s ruler?” Lucifer spoke in disbelief.

“God has… ‘mixed feelings’ on your ability to keep things hidden.” C-447 answered.

“That asshole, after all these years of trust…? Ah, pardon my language. I’d almost forgotten about the age of Wrath’s vessel.” Lucifer retorted.

“So what about Lust?” Charlie asked nervously.

“I highly doubt that she will go back to her cell if Wrath gets to stay. So I will leave her for now with explicit instructions to not expose her freedom to Heaven. Behave yourself, Wrath.” Lucifer answered.

“ **Choke on it.** ” Sin Wrath snarled.

“Now, as for your vessel… what is your name, my dear boy?” Lucifer asked, looking to the boy.

“I don’t have a name, sir… so they’ve been calling me Wrath too.” he replied nervously.

“I see. Well, I do wish you luck in retaining purity. If there is anyone who knows a thing or two about being pure, it is my dearest little Charlie. Living with a deadly sin in you, least of all Wrath, can’t be easy. Between us, I’m rooting for you. It’d be much easier on me if Wrath is deemed contained. Just a little tip from me to you, on the day of the purge stay indoors and away from windows.” Lucifer smiled genuinely.

Lucifer now hummed as he walked, looking to be in a rather jolly mood now. Before he left he gave Charlie a fatherly pat on the head. Once the doors closed, the tension all at once released and everybody but Alastor, C-447, and Wrath collapsed to their knees.

“Dad’s terrifying when he’s in business mode…” Charlie exhaled.

“I thought a fight was going to break out.” Vaggie spoke.

“The atmosphere was choking me.” Angel stated.

“Yes, a close call indeed. C-447, what possessed you to step in?” Alastor questioned.

“My mission has not yet been deemed a failure. While my compatriot and I are still angels the mission is still ongoing. Our allies will be marked KIA. I am not sure how they will adapt to devil life, but nonetheless they cannot return to Heaven with us until they achieve redemption. In the meantime, we shall evaluate Wrath’s vessel now and again.” C-447 explained himself.

“You stuck your neck out for me when I had no idea what to say. Thanks.” Charlie smiled.

“I only told him the truth. Our bet is in a way a deal between us on an outcome. If I let Lucifer take Wrath now, I would be allowing him to trample on the sanctity of that. There is always the possibility that I am wrong in a bet. You will not know the outcome until you take that leap.” C-447 told her.

“Here I thought that angels were all execution and no talk.” Alastor chuckled.

“On purge day we get… carried away, to put it mildly. Our enthusiasm on the crusade is enough to make the most virtuous go mad with bloodlust. Some of us are more merciful than others. There are some who go out of their way to exclusively target sinners.” C-447 told him.

Meanwhile, in heaven… a shadowy figure was looking out over all of paradise. Behind them was an exorcist holding a small radio.

“What will we do, My Liege?” the angel asked.

“What he told Lucifer is not a lie, per say. If Wrath’s vessel were pure of heart and thus could contain his sinful nature, then Wrath would indeed be labeled as contained. Of course, finding a pure-hearted human in today’s age is close to impossible...” a man’s voice sighed.

“What of Lust? Wrath may potentially be contained, but Lust does not possess a vessel.”

“We will proceed as I outlined this morning, but with minor changes. Your top priority will be Lust, as instructed. If Wrath is spotted you are not to engage under any circumstances. The rest is to go as you were ordered. Make sure every battalion knows and understands. I will not tolerate any acts of insubordination, especially when the sins are involved.” the man commanded.

“Should the other cardinals be informed?” the angel asked.

“I see no reason to include them on this, least of all Gabriel. The last thing this operation needs is her sticking her nose into it. I would much rather not repeat the Purge of 1941 if I can help it… but make sure the Seven Virtues are on standby, just in case.” he answered.

“As you wish, Lord Michael.” the angel bowed their head.


End file.
